The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has signed an agreement with Dubai Charity Association to help provide medical treatment to patients with financial constraints.

The Dubai Charity Association will support DHA’s Mosaadah (assistance) program, through which the authority reaches out to both locals and non-locals who require medical treatment but cannot afford it.

The MoU was signed by Essa Al Maidoor, the DHA director-general and Ahmed Mesmar, the general secretary of the Dubai Charity Association in presence of a number of high-ranking officials.

Al Maidoor highlighted the importance of such initiatives which help alleviate the suffering of the needy and to ensure that they have access to high-quality  healthcare.

As part of the program, the association will aid the Moussadah program to cover the cost of medication and treatment for chronic patients in DHA hospitals who cannot afford the cost of their medications.

On the tieup, Mesmar said: “We are pleased to collaborate with the DHA for this humanitarian project. We will help patients who cannot afford treatment through a number of initiatives in partnership with the DHA.”

Salem bin Lahej, the head of the Mosaadah program described the deal as a joint initiative to ensure that patients with chronic diseases do not stop their treatment because they cannot afford it.

"This partnership will look into various ways of helping patients and their families with financial constraints," he noted.

Bin Lahej said the two sides were looking into organising special activities for Ramadan including Iftar for patients and their families.

“In 2013, the program reached out to 600 patients and we spent Dh4 million on their treatment and Dh280,000 on equipment for them which included beds, wheelchairs, oxygen machine," he noted.

He said patients with various medical conditions including burns, cardiac problems, cancer patients etc. were provided treatment through this initiative.-TradeArabia News Service